Struggle for rights goes on

By Khalid Khattak12/5/07
LAHORE

A large number of students, lawyers and civil society representatives took out a protest rally by making human chain against the suspension of the constitution and human rights as well as curbs on media, demanded restoration of all deposed judges.They urged all political parties to boycott the coming elections maintaining that elections without free judiciary and free media would have no transparency and fairness. Students Action Committee (SAC), a group of students representing 21 universities and colleges of the City, had given the protest call in which around 1,000 students, lawyers and civil society participated and expressed their resentment against the present regime, suspension of judges, suspension of human rights and media curbs. Apart from different universities and colleges from the City a large number of students from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) had especially joined the rally, by quietly leaving their campus, while a heavy contingent of police was deployed outside LUMS on Tuesday to stop students from leaving the campus.Carrying colourful placards, wearing black armbands and stickers pasted on their shirts inscribed with anti-emergency, pro-judiciary and pro-media slogans, the rally participants gathered at Lahore Press Club around 3 pm and chanted slogans against President Musharraf for suspending the Constitution.The emotionally charged students chanted slogans like “Hum lay kay rahain gay azadi; hai haq hamara azadi”, “No elections without free judiciary and free media”, “Lathi goli ki sarkar nahi chalay gee; nahi chalay gee” and “Gerti hoi dewar ko aik dhka aur do”, etc. One of the stickers read “Pehlay adliya azad; elections us kay baad” (First restore judiciary then hold elections).Later they made a human chain and took out a rally taking a complete round of the Lahore Press Club. A number of young students from Aitchison and Covent of Jesus and Mary, accompanied by their mothers, also participated in the rally. The protestors also distributed different flyers and pamphlets among people during the rally urging them to stand united against suspension of the constitution.The participants of the rally also held a protest sit-in in front of mosque situated at Shimla Pahari and then moved towards Geo Solidarity Camp. However they were barred by the police doing so upon which they returned to the Lahore Press Club and held a protest sit-in. Some participants of the rally also made speeches on the occasion. A student speaker said, “Students would continue their movement till the restoration of deposed judges,” adding “Transparent, fair and free elections could not be held without a free judiciary. He said, “Students appeal to all the political parties to boycott the election till complete restoration of judiciary and media in the country.Addressing the protestors, a speaker, Hina said peaceful protest by students, lawyers and civil society representatives was for the restoration and freedom of judiciary in the country. “We demand restoration of judiciary including restoration of the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan”, she added. On this occasion a large number of students chanted slogans in favour of deposed CJP saying “Chief teray jaan nisaar baishumaar; baishumaar.îShe also demanded that all arrested lawyers should be released immediately. She further said students’ response to the present situation and their struggle had proved that they were the real future of the country. Bushra Aitzaz, wife of Aitzaz Ahsan, President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), addressing the participants of the protest, said the present movement would have to be continued till complete restoration of the constitution. She, while paying tributes to the students for their struggle, said no movement could be successful without participation of students.A member of the SAC while speaking on the occasion said, “We would carry our movement to all the colleges and universities of the country as it was a national cause.î The protest ended with collective recitation of national anthem.Ms Medea Benjmin and Mr Tighe Barry, members of the US human rights group Global Exchange and women’s peace group CODEPINK, also participated in the rally and expressed their solidarity with the protestors.The protesters then dispersed and many of them left for GOR-I. At the judgeís residence, students joined lawyers, journalists and other activists outside Justice (deposed) Shahid Siddiquiís house and chanted slogans. He also came out to speak to the protesters and lauded the efforts of the lawyers, students and civil society activists. The protest went ahead despite threats from the police to arrest students from the universities involved.

Pakistan sees red over Code Pink activists' antics

By S.A. Miller
December 5, 2007

Pakistani authorities yesterday ordered the deportation of the leader of the feminist U.S. antiwar group Code Pink, who was in Lahore to join protests against the emergency rule imposed by President Pervez Musharraf, according to a spokeswoman for the group.
Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the group, said she was arrested at a student demonstration by agents of the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence and detained for about four hours before being released with orders to leave the country this morning.
"I'm OK. A little shaken up," Ms. Benjamin told The Washington Times by telephone from her hotel in Lahore. "They mistreated us."
Ms. Benjamin said she feared for her life as the agents held her at gunpoint in a car speeding through the city to the police station.
"I thought I was going to die in the car," she said. "They totally terrorized us."
Pakistani authorities also detained and then ordered the deportation of Tighe Barry, a longtime Code Pink activist who was participating in the students' rally outside the Lahore Press Club.
"It's a sad state of affairs when the Pakistani government, a government that is trying to portray itself to the West as democratic, tries to harass and deport U.S. human rights activists," Ms. Benjamin said at the press club before her arrest. "If they do this to us, who have the protection of being U.S. citizens, imagine what they do to their own citizens."
Code Pink activists are arrested regularly in the U.S. for disrupting congressional hearings on the war, targeting Democrats and Republicans alike with protests. A Code Pink activist was arrested in October after rushing up to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, wrapping her arms around Miss Rice and screaming "war criminal" as she displayed her red-painted hands.

Protesting for Pakistan

History senior Ammar Ali Jan gathered with about 30 other students Tuesday to show his sympathy for victims of violence and oppression as a result of military rule in Pakistan."This emergency has affected me personally as it has affected the Pakistani student body on campus," Jan said. He added that authorities in Pakistan were on a university campus in the country Tuesday, waiting to arrest Jan's brother, a student leader in Pakistan. "Hundreds of thousands of people in Pakistan are sacrificing so much for their country, for democracy and for freedom," Jan said. "And these things aren't Pakistani things; these are universal things. People all around the world need to show solidarity with those people." The students assembled on the West Mall in protest of the ongoing events in Pakistan under the rule of President Pervez Musharraf."It is a protest condemning dictatorship in Pakistan, condemning the fact that the army has become institutionalized," said Ahmed Yusuf, anthropology graduate student.Protesters urged students and passersby to become more informed and pay more attention to what is happening in Pakistan. They said they believe that democracy can flourish in Pakistan if the U.S. government decreases support and funding for Musharraf. "Democracy has never really been given a chance to survive in Pakistan," Yusuf said. "Whenever there has been a hint of civil liberties or spaces for civil society to act the military has always come and curtailed those particular spaces."- Courtney Dudley

Police baton-charge students protesting against emergency

By Sohail Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Police baton-charged participants of a students protest rally at the Aabpara intersection on Tuesday. They were demanding lifting of emergency and restoration of the constitution and deposed judges.The rally was held by the Progressive Student Action Committee and Joint Student Movement and was attended by students of different academic institutions and members of the civil society.The protestors, who were raising slogans against the government and curbs on media, started proceeding towards the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office to express solidarity with protesting journalists. However, a heavy contingent of police stopped and baton-charged them. The students vowed to continue their struggle, threatening the government with severe consequences if their demands were not met. They also called for holding student organisations’ elections.The protestors urged all the political parties to boycott the upcoming elections. They were of the view that under the present setup free and fair elections could not be held. They also condemned the detention of political leaders and lawyers. Meanwhile, the journalists also staged a sit-in in front of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office on Tuesday to protest against the imposition of emergency and curbs on media. The protest call was made by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).Criticising the code of conduct and the ordinances being promulgated to suppress freedom of media in the name of national security, they said freedom of expression was the fundamental right of the public and no authority could suspend it without providing justifiable grounds.They also demanded restoration of the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other superior courts’ judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). “The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should also avoid using unfair measures against the media,” they added.

Students rally against emergency, media curbs

* SP warns of arrests
* Says protests under emergency rule illegal
* Students want right to form peaceful student groups on campuses

By Adnan Lodhi
LAHORE:

About 300 students from various educational institutions protested the suspension of the constitution and curbs on the media at Liberty roundabout after Friday prayers.The students also taped their mouths shut and observed a 10-minute silence in protest. Superintendent of Police (Model Town division) Imran Ahmad said the police would take action against the students because the country was under emergency and nobody was allowed to protest on the streets.Students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Punjab University (PU), University of Engineering and Technology (UET) and Lahore School of Economics gathered at Liberty roundabout after Friday prayers. Lawyers, teachers and NGO workers also joined them.The students shouted anti-Musharraf slogans, as they marched within the roundabout. They held posters and placards inscribed with slogans such as ‘We are against PCO’, ‘Judiciary under PCO is not acceptable’, ‘Elections not acceptable’, ‘Adlia ki azadi tak jung rahai gi’, ‘Go Musharraf Go’ and ‘Adlia ko azad karo’. Several students also shouted slogans against the Islami Jamiat Talaba.Students also staged a sit-in at the roundabout and made speeches on the occasion. They distributed pamphlets amongst citizens to make them aware about the situation and to urge them to protest the emergency.A student from LUMS said the problems in Pakistan could not be resolved by removing a dictator. He said the country lacked institutions required to make it go ahead. He said that under such circumstances students had taken the first step to organise themselves under the banner of the Students Action Committee (SAC). “We will continue our movement even after the achievement of our short term goals. We want to win for the people of Pakistan,” he added.A student from PU said the students of universities were united against the emergency. He said the students had organised themselves on a common agenda to protest the injustices against the people. He said, “We demand empowering the people of Pakistan to decide the country’s future.”A teacher said, “We urge the youth of Pakistan to unite against the emergency and PCO, which has destroyed the judiciary.”A student from LUMS told Daily Times that they wanted the right to form peaceful democratic student organisations on campus where discussions and debates on politics and social issues could be openly held. He said students would continue protesting and would soon announce their next strategy after an SAC meeting.A large police contingent was present. The SP told Daily Times that the police allowed the students to protest within the boundaries of Liberty roundabout. However, he said legal action would be taken against them, as it was illegal to protest during an emergency.Another police officer said the police would contact the administrations of the colleges where the students studied to identify the protest leaders.IJT protest: Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) workers protested against criminal cases against PU teachers. According to a press release issued by the IJT on Friday, protestors also shouted slogans against the PCO and the emergency.PU IJT nazim Attiqur Rehman said the cases against teachers were illegal and that the government was victimising them for starting a movement against the emergency. He said the IJT would continue its movement against the emergency and that the government should end FIRs against the IJT.